Mass Effect: Prelude To Love
by Mirari.Divinus
Summary: Sometimes you just can't run from your feelings. Collab with Maya Aodhan!


Garrus pinned her roughly against the wall. Her leg wrapped tightly around his waist while his hand flexed lightly around her neck holding her in place. His tongue trailed up her neck then lightly bit her earlobe. Enjoying the gasp of excitement coming from her bruised lips, he reached down and pulled her other leg around his waist as he pushed off the wall and carried her to the bed gently placing her down. A smirk flashed across his face as he stared at the alluring image she made against his sheets. Her bright red hair contrasted nicely with the blue silk.

Ayra Shepard's green eyes flashed up at him as she reached a hand and pulled him down on top of her. Her legs wrapping tightly around his waist as her hips surged up to rub against his erection.

"Garrus...please..." she growled as she bit down hard on the soft skin between his neck and cowl.

He surged into her, his face buried in the crook of her neck and counted his blessings that she had never heard the love that sung in his subharmonics. He loved her. But she did not return the affection. He knew it from the very beginning. He blamed himself for just saying 'blowing off steam.' Yet here they are years later still 'blowing off steam'. He wanted more; much, much more but knew better than to ask for it.

His pace slowed, as he lifted his head up and stared down at her face. Her full bottom lip caught between her teeth, her eyes closed as she bit back a moan. He leaned down, as his hips rolled slowly against hers enjoying the slow dragging feel of her walls clenching around his shaft. It was different from their fast paced 'fucking' as she called it. He leaned down further and lightly pressed his forehead against hers, his mouth plates lightly brushed against her lips causing her eyes to fly open.

"Garrus...what? Why...are you making love?" she asked her voice going shrill as panic flew into her eyes, "Stop! You don't love me!"

"Who says I don't?" he growled as he stared down at her. "I'm tired of hiding my feelings for you, Ayra. I fucking love you, okay?" He narrowed his eyes at her as she paled.

"No-no you can't! You promised!" She hissed as she struggled to push him off her. "Get off me!" She drew back a glowing blue fist and slugged him across the face. "NOW!" she screamed as she repeated the motion finally sending him flying off her as she jumped to her feet to gather her clothes.

Without a backwards glance she ran off into the night, leaving him knocked out and naked in the middle of his house.

He woke up a few hours later, a sad mournful keen coming from his subharmonics.

He'd been in love with her since SR1, jealously watching her budding relationship with Kaidan before he died on Virmire. He mourned her loss like a lover should when she died. At their reunion on Omega, his heart soared glorious renewal. He wanted to say those "words." They built up on his tongue like sweet turian candy, but he held them back. She had come back harder and colder than before. He watched on the sidelines as Jacob, then Thane attempted to get closer to her, only for them to be turned away. His hope had flared in those months, but it was a foolish hope.

He had hated her for a moment. When she had stood in front of Sidonis, preventing him from taking his revenge, he had felt his heart fill with rage as she warned Sidonis of his intent. He finally let the traitor go in the end, refusing to put a bullet through her head just to get his target. He was still furious when she came into the main battery to check up on him. She moved to touch his shoulder to get his attention. He had taken her in his arms then. And she had responded, yanking his armour off and tossing it to one side while she had teased him, tormented him until he thrust into her with an intensity that dizzied them both.

When he came to his senses he blinked his eyes open to stare into her face, apologies bubbling up on his tongue. Shock and surprise coursed through his body when her hands tightened around his neck, her voice husky, full of lust asking for more, always more.

He had escorted her back to Earth after blowing up the Mass Relay in Batarian space. He knew it was her personal revenge against Mindoir and he accepted it. She had not cried in his arms, but her silence that night as she rode him was eerie in its intensity.

Their reunion on Menae was bittersweet. She had visited him in the battery after getting Victus set up. He had pinned her against the wall, taking her hard and fast. Six months of frustration expelled in a few quick hard thrusts of his hips into her willing body.

When Tali fell on Rannoch. she had cried. Briefly. Loss was something she was familiar with after losing Mordin and Thane. Their joining had been been clutching, clawing and fierce. Her strength amazed him from the very beginning, how she was able to just dust herself off and keep going after losing so much.

He knew that everyone else knew he adored her, that he loved her more than the air he breathed. But she seemed oblivious. She was just 'blowing off steam'.

"Lola, I hate to say this but man, you look like shit!" James drawled as he handed her another bottle of ryncol.

"Thank you for your fucking opinion," Ayra snarled, as she tilted her head back, her lips around the opening of the bottle and gulped down a quarter of it before slamming it down on the table.

"C'mon, Shepard, what got your panties in a bunch? Did Garrus finally dump your ass?" Jack asked as she took a drink from her bottle.

"Fuck you, princess," Ayra turned and pointed a finger at Jack, "You have no fucking clue what's going on." She clenched her fingers around the bottle, watching as the liquid sloshed around inside.

Jack leaned forward, and lightly tugged the bottle from Ayra's grasp. A sneer curled her lips, "C'mon, Shep, talk. Something is obviously bothering you and you're drinking like the answers to your fucking problems are at the bottom of the bottle."

"You mean, it's not?" Ayra growled as she made a snatch for the bottle, only for Jack to hold it out of her reach. "Give that back! I paid for it! And I'll fucking drink it!" She made another feeble attempt.

"Tell you what," Jack said dangling the bottle out of Ayra's reach with two fingers. "Tell us what's got your panties all twisted and I'll give you this bottle...and buy you another."

Ayra rested her head on her hand and blinked drunkenly at Jack, a forlorn look on her pale face, "Fine... Garrus told me he loved me." Ignoring the slightly surprised look on Jack's face she reached across the table and plucked the bottle from Jack's fingers and took a long drink.

"That's it? That's what has you sitting here in the bar with us instead of snuggled on a couch with your boyfriend?" Jack's chocolate brown eyes widened..

Ayra sat back in her chair, kicking up her booted feet and placing them in James' lap. A sigh hissed from her lips as she reached up with a finger and lightly scratched her nose piercing.

"Look I...I just don't do 'love'," Ayra curled her lip derisively and reached up and ran her fingers through her hair.

"Wait. Let me get this straight, Lola," James leaned forward and stared intently at Ayra. "You and Scars have been bumping uglies for years and neither of you revealed your feelings for each other? I mean, you haven't slept with anyone besides Garrus..."

"Yeah, so?" Ayra grumbled taking another swig from her bottle. "Why look elsewhere when I'm already getting the best sex in my life?"

"I wouldn't say the best sex in your life," James teased giving her a lecherous wink.

Ayra stared intently at him for a moment. He shifted uneasily.

"Uhh, Lola?"

Before he could respond, she shifted from her seat to sit in his lap and wrapped her arms around his neck and brushed a kiss against his lips.. She waited to feel that rush of adrenaline that usually coursed down her body when she was in Garrus' arms but none came.

Instantly, she removed herself,"Fuck, that was like...Like kissing my brother! UGH!" She wiped her lips settling back in her chair.

Jack burst into laughter, "Wow, Ayra you are something else. You've faced down Saren, the Collectors, blew up a mass relay, faced down a fucking reaper without batting a fucking eyelash...but when Garrus tells you he loves you...you turn tail and run?"

Ayra slumped back into her seat and her head hit the back of the chair as she glared at the dark ceiling. A soft sigh puffed out of her lips before she spoke softly, causing both James and Jack to lean in close to hear what she was saying.

"I lost my family on Mindoir, my crew on Akuze...Kaidan on Virmire. I've lost so many people in my life..." her eyes closed in thought. "I can't bear to lose Garrus too...I'd...die without him..." A small tear coursed down her face as she felt her heart pound in her chest. "I need...I need some air," she gasped out.

She dropped the bottle to the floor as she stumbled out of the bar, taking deep, gulping breaths. She made her way down the dark alley, confidence and drunkeness replaceing caution; not noticing the group of batarian refugees that had followed her out of the bar.

The first bullet grazed her shoulder sending her spinning. She reached for a gun that was not there. No armor and unarmed, she was defenseless. Unable to focus, her biotics faltered before another bullet whipped into her side. Pain. Agonizing pain, a thump and then silence. A lonely abyss of nothingness surrounded her.

* * *

Garrus had just finished polishing his armor when his omni-tool beeped. His eyes widen in at the message.

"Ayra's hurt, she's in the hospital, get your blue scaly ass there, Scars! - James"

He quickly made his way out of his apartment, rushing to the hospital. He bolted passed nurses and doctors left and right, as he searched for his love.

"Garrus!" Dr. Michel caught him by surprised. Her hand firmly grasped his arm as he twitched like a panicking puppy.

"Garrus, please, get a hold of yourself," she demanded.

He took in a breath as he snarled out, "Where is she? Where is Ayra?"

"She's fine, she was attacked by some batarians leaving a bar. Her crew took her here..." Dr. Michel lead Garrus to one of the private rooms.

There she was, her body attached to a fe machines. The low humming of the hospital instruments echoed from beyond the glass window.

"Is...is she stable?" he asked, his subharmonics singing with panic.

"She's fine, her nanites are fixing the damages from the bullet wounds. We just have to keep her under to let them do their work." She patted his arm and keyed in her access, allowing the door to fly open, "I'll uh, give you some privacy..."

Garrus slowly made his way into the room. He reached her side and gently brushed strands of bright red hair off her face.

Guiding his talon lightly along her cheek, he murmured, "Ayra...you're killing me here...every time you run off my heart feels like its going to explode..." He leaned down and lightly pressed his forehead against hers. "But..." he trailed his mouth plates down to press lightly against her lips, "I love you Ayra...you can keep running, if thats what you want..."

Ayra's dreams troubled her. She was running through a house, the rooms lowlit. She was alone. Not just on her own, but truly alone. When she ran toward the front door to escape, there was only pain waiting for her. Pain that coursed her spine and made her withdraw her hand when she tried to touch the sensor.

A voice she knew so well rumbled into her head. She couldn't make out the words but the familiar sound was a comfort. She sought it. Room to never-ending room. Then the house suddenly changed into the Normandy. She stepped out of the elevator, checked the rooms in the long corridor. They were empty. A shower was running. She reached in to turn it off, letting the warm water run silkily over her arm. Suddenly it blasted hot and she yanked her arm away. She cried out, but there was no one to hear.

She looked in the medbay. Karin Chakwas had left her terminal running, but she was not there, nor in the Drive Core. Liara's suite had only information scrolled in a constant stream across a dozen screens.

Ayra stepped out, and the long corridor to the main battery stretched before her. She ran toward the door and it opened. It was empty. She let out a cry of anger and frustration. He was always here! Why had he gone left her alone?

Shepard woke, startled, into a room that was dim. Wires slid into her skin, monitoring her every move, her heartrate was spiked on the screen and she itched to rip them out. She turned her head, though it ached and her eyes came to rest on Garrus, stretched out beside her bed in a chair that was almost too small for his large frame.

"Garrus?" she croaked.

He woke with a start, "Ayra?" He leaned forward, his sleepy blue eyes searching her face, "Are you in pain?"

"Yes," she murmured, "But it tells me I'm alive."

"Crazy woman, how did you get yourself shot at?" he asked curiously.

"I left my gun at your place..." she muttered dryly, closing her eyes to hide the wave of pain.

"Ah. I see," Garrus commented as he studied her face, as if memorizing the the lines and curves.

She struggled to open her eyes, staring at him through her lashes. "Why are you here?" she asked softly, her fingers fidgeting with the blanket on her lap. "It...its not like..." she paused when Garrus placed his finger over her lips.

"I told you, Ayra, I love you."

Ayra was silent for a long time. He shifted, thinking perhaps she had gone unconscious, then her eyes opened, a pain-filled green meeting bright blue, "I don't know if I can return that love, Garrus. I'm sorry. I just..."

"I understand," Garrus shifted back, his body bowing as though dealt a blow. For a while he stared at the floor, then lifted his gaze, "I think you are lying."

Ayra narrowed her eyes and shifted uneasily on the bed.

"I think you are afraid, and I think you are lying," he repeated softly, "You have faced some of the most frightening things this galaxy has to offer, and here, even after taking several bolts to your body, you are afraid."

"Stop," Ayra ground out, "Stop it."

"Yes," Garrus rumbled deep in his chest, the hint of anger in his subharmonics, "Yes, I think I will. Get some rest. You need your strength."

Ayra watched him walk away, and tears shimmered in her eyes, though through sheer force of will, she did not let them fall.

He did not return the following day. Nor the next after that when she was released. She nearly sent him a message a dozen times, but held herself back. And when she got out, there was only James and Jack to see her back to the Normandy, a little stiff, a little sore, and a lot troubled.

"So...uhh..." James began hesitantly when they sat at the mess table with the evening meal in front of them, "What's next, Captain?"

Ayra had been stirring her soup, staring into the slick orange glop. She started briefly, "What?"

James glanced at Jack, "Next? Where are we going?"

"I don't care," Ayra shrugged, "Probably into the Terminus. Hackett would like us to check out pirate activity near Kite's Nest."

"Aye, aye," James leaned back in his seat, folding his arms across his broad chest.

"Cheer the fuck up, Shep," Jack drawled, her booted feet up on the bench, arm propped on her bent knee, "You walked away. Gotta be happy about that."

"Yeah, I walked away," Ayra's voice was gruff as she stood up abruptly, her food barely touched, "I'm getting some sack time."

"Shit," Jack groaned when Ayra left the Mess Hall, "Guess she fucked up with Garrus."

"Yeah, I reckon Scar's tried again, and she kicked him in the balls yet again," James chewed thoughtfully on his cheek.

"Should we do something?" Jack lifted a dark brow.

"Do what?" he replied with a shrug, "She doesn't want him."

"She does," Jack replied, drily, "She's just...all messed up about it."

"No kidding," James shovelled a mouthful of soup and chewed on the chunks of meat.

* * *

****_She walked through the empty ship, hearing the echoes of her footsteps on the metal floor. Passing station by station, not finding anyone._

_"Anyone here?" she called, her voice echoing as panic filled her. She quickened her pace, the mess hall was empty._

_"No...no not again...please no..." she mumbled to herself as her footsteps took her towards the main battery._

_"Gods no, not this again..." she could not stop the tears that slid down her cheeks._

_The doors slid open and suddenly she was on Mindoir. Staring, as her mother stood in front of the stove stirring something in a pot while her little brother John played with his toys on the floor._

_"Ayra! Go get your father. Tell him dinner is almost ready!" her mother's voice was soft and soothing, just the way she remembered years ago. "Well, don't just stand there, dear, get your father!" her mother laughed, as she waved a hand at Ayra._

_Turning, she ran outside, closing her eyes as the wind lifted her hair across her face and the sunlight warmed her cold cheeks. Her footsteps leading her to the barn in the back of the house. She tilted her head, listening to her father's singing drifting through the air._

_"Da!" she called, peeking her head through the door and smiling at her father who was busy working on something on his desk. "Da, dinner's ready!" she called out, her eyes looking around the barn full of tech and gadgets._

_"Tell your mom I'm coming," her father called out before waving her out of the barn._

_Ayra smiled and turned her gaze toward the distant blue sky and gathering white clouds._

_"Ayra!" a dual toned voice spoke from behind her, causing her to turn around and stare at a younger, carefree, version of Garrus. A playful tilt to his head as he held out a hand. "Let's go to the tree..." he said softly as his three fingered hand wrapped around five._

_"Garrus...? What are you doing here?" she asked as he lead her to the tree where a heart was carved with their names in it. "What? I can't be here with my girl?" Garrus smiled as he sat down, tugging Ayra into his lap._

_"I..." Ayra paused her eyes tracked to the distance, staring at the dark clouds that gathered on the horizon._

_He wrapped his arms around her and lightly nuzzled her neck. "Just close your eyes, Ayra, and relax..." he murmured._

_"Something's wrong, you're not suppose to be here..." she protested, attempting to pull away. Her eyes now frantically searched the horizon. Foreboding climbing up her neck causing her to shiver in fright._

_"It will be okay," Garrus said, his eyes closed as he purred contentedly. His chin nuzzled small circles on the top of Ayra's head. She relaxed slightly, the sound of Garrus' voice soothing her fears as she leaned into him. Her eyes closed._

_She opened her eyes and realized it was now dark and Garrus was gone. The sky was blood red and screams filled the air. She scrambled to her feet and raced home, her heart pounding in her chest. She crested the hill overlooking her house and saw it was on fire. Gunshots and bombs echoed off into the distance. She sank to her knees, tears sliding down her face as her fists balled helplessly in her lap._

_"No no not again..." she cried, pounding her fists into the dirt._

_"Ayra!" a voice called out from the shadows as Garrus re-appeared, a shotgun in hand, with his trusty sniper rifle dangling from his back. This was new._

_"C'mon, don't just sit there, we gotta get rid of them!" He reached for hand and pulled her up. "Just like old times, eh?" his mandibles fluttered in a turian smile as he quickly pulled the sniper rifle into his arms and without even checking his scope, took a shot, instantly killing something off into the distance._

_She took another step towards him, her hand reaching out to touch his shoulder as the world melted around her._

_"I've got you," his hands held her forearms as she dangled from the airlock of the Normandy after blowing up the collector base._

_"I'll always have your six, Shepard." he said after their reunion at Menae._

_"I love you," he whispered into her ear as she lay sleeping safe in his arms._

_The images flashed too quickly for her eyes to follow; a lifetime of memories built on love._

Ayra gasped awake, her hand pressed to her heart where it pounded so hard it was almost painful. She swung her legs over the edge of the bed and leaned forward, elbows to knees as she tried to catch her breath. She shuddered, the heel of her hands pressed hard into her eyes.

After a moment she had calmed enough to stand. She walked into the bathroom and cupping her palms under the faucet, splashed water on her face. She stared into the mirror above the sink and leaned on her hands. The collection of shapes that made up her face. Short, rough chopped red hair. Pale skin. The freckles. The scars. Her eyes. She looked into them and wondered what others saw. She wondered what Garrus saw. She wondered why he loved her. It's not like she had deserved it lately. She pushed back and turned away from the face she barely took the time to look at.

Garrus.

She rubbed the back of her neck, and stared at the tangle of sheets on her bed. She wanted him there, she realised. When she had woken from her nightmare, she wished he had been there.

Fuck.

What had she done?

She strode to her wardrobe and yanked a shirt off the pile and tossed it on the bed. She tugged on a pair of pants and zipped up her boots. She pulled off the tank she wore to bed and picked up the shirt. It unfolded with razor straight lines and she paused. It wasn't hers. She lay it down on the bed and its awkward lines collapsed like a deflated balloon, but she knew exactly whose it was. Karma, you bitch. Ayra rubbed the back of her neck again, "Okay, I got the message."

Half naked, she tugged another tank over her head, grabbed the dark turian tunic and headed for the door.

"EDI? I'm heading off. Vega has the conn. Not sure when I will be back,"

"As you wish, Captain," EDI's cool tones acknowledged her order.

The apartment was dark when she unlocked it. Not surprising, a glance at her watch showed that it was 3am. She gave a rueful smile. Garrus probably wouldn't care.

She called out, "It's just me."

There was no answering reply.

She frowned, "Garrus?"

Panic flooded her system for a moment, and she rushed to the bedroom, flicking lights on as she went. The bed was tidily made, but clearly not slept in. The bathroom held no detritus from everyday living. The kitchen? It was empty. The usual utensils in place, but the refrigeration unit was devoid of food. Her hands clenched. She spied a box on the table where they had shared a few meals. It wasn't pretty, it wasn't wrapped. Just a plain black plastic container.

Cautiously, she went to it and lifted off the top. It was her gun, cleaned, packed away in foam. A note was neatly folded on top.

"I FINALLY UNDERSTOOD YOUR MESSAGE. I HAVE GONE HOME. SAFE TRAVELS, AYRA.

GARRUS."

She crushed the note in her fist and lifted out the gun.

He had gone. She had rejected him once too often, and he had gone. She stared down at the deadly weapon in her hand and desperately wanted to shoot something. Anything.

She stared at the empty apartment, lights blazing.

"No," she snarled, "Hell no. It's not going to end like this. Like hell he understands! I'm going to make him listen!"

"Vega," the voice came over the comm in his room, "New orders."

"Mmph?" Vega mumbled from his position facedown in the pillow. His formidable muscles flexed as he levered himself upright. His voice was fuzzy with sleep, "What?"

"I'm setting course for Palaven," Ayra's voice was agitated, and she cut the connection.

A slim pale arm, heavily tattooed, slid across his back and a long leg stretched, as a voice muffled by sleep, muttered, "Did she just say Palaven?" Jack's pale face emerged from the blankets as she curved her lithe body against his back.

"Yup," James yawned, and draped an arm over her hips and butt, "Guess she made up her mind."

"Good, she was getting to be a pain in the ass to deal with," Jack's eyes drifted closed. Vega just rumbled a laugh.

Ayra paced behind Joker's chair, an angry scowl marring her face as she vehemently chewed on her thumb nail.

"You know, pacing isn't going to make this ship go faster..." Joker teased as he turned his head to grin up at her.

"Would taking your hat away make it go faster?" she snarled as she swung back around.

Garrus peered down at the soft little creature in his arms. It slept. A lot. Occasionally cried. It had Solana's pale skin and short fringe. He touched its admittedly cute nose and started when she opened her eyes. He flinched, waiting for her to start bawling. But she just blinked up at him owlishly and swatted his face with one tiny hand. He chuckled.

"She likes you," Solana lowered herself into the chair next to Garrus and brushed her hand over her daughter's head.

"Well, for a kid, she is cute," Garrus drawled, "No idea where she gets it from. You were an ugly little thing."

Solana punched him on the arm, "No worse than you, big brother."

"Ow," Garrus mock-winced, "Don't make me tell mom on you."

"Hah, she always took my side anyway," Solana replied primly, and glanced through the doorway to where their parents were working in the kitchen, preparing the food for their dinner. They watched their father wrap his arm around their mother's waist and draw her close for a moment. Their mother waved grimy hands in the air in protest, but he nuzzled her neck anyway.

Solana groaned, "Spirits, they are just embarrassing when they get like that."

Garrus just grunted and turned his head away.

"What?" the perceptive sibling asked of her brother, "What's wrong?"  
"Nothing," Garrus shook his head, "Everything is just fine."

"I am calling bullshit, Garrus," Solana murmured.

"No swearing in this house!" their mother called from the kitchen.

"How does she do that?" Solana grumbled.

"Practice," came the reply.

Garrus laughed, but there was sadness there that had Solana touching his face.

"Garrus, come on," her voice was gentle, a calming note in her subharmonics.

"Ahh, things didn't work out the way I had hoped with something," he shrugged, and wiggled his fingers for his niece to bat at.

Solana frowned for a moment, swiped drool from her daughter's cheek before she could mess Garrus' tunic. She paused, "You mean Ayra, don't you?"

Garrus stilled, and glanced at her.

"Damn," Solana sighed as she leaned back onto the couch, "I was hoping you two would work it out. But she's so...intense. So wrapped up in her work."

"It wasn't that simple."

"Explain?" Solana begged.

The doorbell signalled. The siblings ignored it.

"I think she was afraid," Garrus tumbled the words out.

"Afraid of what?" Solana frowned.

"Afraid of admitting to myself that I needed someone," a new voice joined their conversation. Solana reached for her daughter before Garrus could tumble her to the ground in his rush to rise. But he was gentle and handed her back to Solana before straightening hesitantly.

Ayra stood with her hands clutched together to still their trembling. She looked from face to unfamiliar face before landing back on Garrus'. His eyes were intent upon hers.

"What are you doing here?" he asked gruffly, folding his arms across his chest.

Solana smacked him hard on the arm.

"What my ill mannered son means is.." a tall turian female stepped up beside Ayra and rested her hand upon her shoulder, "Welcome to our home. My name is Galla Vakarian. Garrus' mother. I owe you my thanks. But for your intervention I would not have gotten the treatment I needed for my illness. I know you were responsible."

"I..you're welcome," Ayra flushed a deep red.

"And this is my husband, Balian Vakarian," a turian male, the blue markings on his face faded and scarred with age, strode out of the kitchen and eyed Ayra thoughtfully.

"We have no food suitable for your comsumption, Captain Shepard, but if you would care to stay anyway, you would be welcome," his voice was a slightly deeper rumble than his son's.

"I...I...have interrupted," Ayra took a step back, a little unnerved by the proximity of his family, "I just wanted to have a quick word with ...Garrus." Her voice trailed off as she looked at him, and caught the frustration and annoyance in his expression.

"You came all the way to Palaven for a 'quick word'?" he snapped.

"Do go take Captain Shepard out to the back balcony, Garrus. And Captain Shepard? Do feel free to smack him for his bad manners," Galla instructed softly, her voice humming with warning for her son, "Dinner will be ready in an hour."

Solana moved closer to Ayra, a gleam in her eyes as she shared a look with their mother. "Here Ayra," she grinned at the shared looks of panic that filled both Garrus and Ayra's face as she tucked her daughter into Ayra's arms. She took a step back and watched as the baby blinked and cooed at the human holding her.

"Wow...she's beautiful," Ayra said softly her face soft full of wonder. She lifted her eyes up and saw a strange look on Garrus' face. Her eyes drifted towards his family, seeing the knowing look they shared with one another. She turned her attention back to the bundle in her arms, a soft humming song coming from her lips as the child reached up and tangled her tiny talons in Ayra's hair.

Garrus' heart thudded loudly in his chest as he stared, dry mouthed as the soft look of wonderment that filled Ayra's face. 'Spirits, I wonder how she would look holding our child. ' he thought to himself as Solana came to rescue Ayra's hair from the tiny fist. His heart clenched at the flash of loss that danced across her face when she returned the baby to its mother.

His father lightly nudged Garrus closer to her before escorting his wife and daughter out of the room. "So you wanted to talk? He asked his voice soft and husky.

"I..." Ayra shifted nervously, her hand going to the back of her neck as she chewed her bottom lip. "I was scared, you were right. I was scared to realize I needed someone. Someone like you, who's always..." she gulped, fighting back tears that suddenly swam into her eyes. She tilted her head down, her red hair sliding down her face to shield her tears from Garrus' eyes. She bit her lip harder, and wrapped her arms around her waist. "I...need you Garrus, I need you more than I could ever need someone."

Garrus moved slowly towards her, pulling her into his arms. "Okay," he breathed into her hair, his eyes closed as her arms wrapped tightly around his waist her body pressed tightly against his. ""Your family must feel I am mad," Ayra crept her fingers slowly up his chest, her head tucked under his chin.

"For accepting me. Yes, you are probably right," his voice tried for levity, his lips pressing against the top of her head, "Am I understanding? Are you accepting me?"

"Don't joke," Shepard muttered, her voice disgruntled, "Yes, I am, you idiot."

"There's my girl," he tucked a finger under her chin and tilted her head up.

She looked up at him with eyes bright with past tears and current annoyance, "I was always here," she grumbled, the sentiment at odds with her tone of a sudden. But he wasn't fooled.

"Say it once, Shepard," his lips hovered over her own, "Just once."

"I'm here," she clenched her fist against his chest, "Shouldn't that be enough?"

"Oh no," Garrus neared a little closer, their breaths mingled, "Not even close. You told me I wasn't allowed anywhere near you."

"I never said that!" Shepard protested.

Garrus slid his hand up into her hair, the talons scritching her scalp in a way that made her close her eyes and sigh.

"Say it," he demanded.

She touched the skin of his neck, a gentle caress, the first soft touch she had given him, and she opened her eyes. Green met blue.

"I...love you," her words skipped over the other, but the intent was truth.

"Now was that so hard?" his lips plates roughly brushed hers, a simile of a human kiss. She appreciated it and wrapped her arms around his neck. She paused before joining her lips with his own.

"Smug bastard," but there was affection in the statement before she kissed him thoroughly.

* * *

A/N - Thank you to Miri for letting me play in her world! All my spelling errors are Australian spelling errors! Forgive her!

A/N - Maya's awesome for getting my head dribbles and putting em in order. *heart emotes*


End file.
